Senior medical researchers and those responsible for sourcing private medical funding will meet later this month with community and business leaders to discuss new ways for health and medical research to be funded.

 

The Research Australia “Building a Sustainable Social Investment Strategy for Health and Medical Research” Conference will be held in Sydney, on 29-30 August.

 

The conference will explore new funding models such as public-private partnerships (PPPs) as one way to build a stronger philanthropic support base for Australian health and medical research.

 

“Despite some significant donations from leading businesses such as Macquarie Foundation and traditional supporters such as the Myer and Murdoch families, rates of philanthropy for medical research is about half that in the US,” said Research Australia Chairman, Dr Christine Bennett.

 

Key speakers at the conference will include:

  • Mr. Simon McKeon, renowned philanthropist and Australian of the Year,
  • Hon. Mark Butler MP, Australian Minister for Health and Ageing;
  • Hon Jillian Skinner MP, NSW Minister for Health, and
  • Andrea Lucard, Executive Vice President, External Relations, Medicines for Malaria Venture (Geneva) – eradicating malaria globally with funding from multiple private foundations, corporates and governments.

 

Representatives from the Menzies Research Institute, Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, Mater Foundation, the George Institute, Tissue Bank, BIO21 Cluster, Hunter Medical Research Institute, MS Research Australia, Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation are among those to present case studies and share experiences of accessing philanthropic support.

 

Registrations can be made here. The Conference is sponsored by beyondblue, Hunter Medical Research Institute and the Australian Department of Health and Ageing